Color pattern facilitates species recognition but not signal detection: a field test using robots

Abstract

Lay Summary Ornament color and pattern facilitate species recognition, but not signal detection, in the black-bearded gliding lizard. Understanding the function of ornament design in communication is essential to explain the evolution of both signal complexity and signal diversity. Using robots in playback experiments, we assessed the importance of ornament design for signal detection and conspecific recognition. We found that color and pattern did not influence detection but that males responded with greater intensity to population-typical signals.